FBI agents remove evidence from the Cleveland house where three women who had disappeared as teenagers approximately 10 years ago were found alive on May 6. / Bill Pugliano, Getty Images

by Melanie Eversley, USA TODAY

by Melanie Eversley, USA TODAY

Cleveland Patrol Officer Patrol Officer Anthony Espada has recounted to a public information officer in the city's Department of Public Safety what it was like to find Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight on May 6, more than 10 years after they'd gone missing.

"We pull up, we see a crowd, like on the porch," Espada said. "We see this girl. She's like raising her hand, holding a child."

Espada's partner was driving and as they pulled up as the woman - Amanda Berry, 27 - approached his partner, he said.

"He looked up at me and he's like, 'Is it her?' Just the emotion from that point that he confirmed it was Amanda was overwhelming," Espada said.

The officer and his partner asked Espada if anyone else was inside and she said yes, two more.

"We immediately started running towards the house," Espada said. "As we were going up the steps, it was so quiet, like peaceful."

Espada goes on to explain that he heard a scuffling inside and Michelle Knight, 27, popped into the doorway and paused for a second.

"Within moments, she came charging at me," Espada said. "She jumped onto me. She's like, 'You saved us! You saved us!' And I'm holding onto her so tight. And then, within a few seconds, I see another girl come out of the bedroom."

Georgina "Gina" DeJesus, 23, was next, according to Espada's account.

He continued, "I asked her, 'What's your name?' She said, 'My name is Georgina DeJesus.' Very overwhelming. I mean, it took everything to hold myself together ... It was like one bombshell after another. That's when I broadcasted, '2 Adam 23, we found them! We found them!' "

Espada said everything just came together in the right place at the right time.

"I feel so happy for them," he said. "It goes through my mind every day. I couldn't imagine the past 10-12 years what they went through."